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Kwality Kases

Hi All,
I'm new to the forum. I have a thread going on a Star/National Cabinet Co. chest I'm cleaning up but as a further intro I bought this case or "kase" a few months back. My limited research finds an ad from May of 1916 Popular Mechanics offering these for sale.The timeline holds pretty true as one of the drawers has a newspaper lining above the felt dated Oct.10,1917.005 (Medium).jpg006 (Medium).jpg007 (Medium).jpg008 (Medium).jpg

The manufacturer/advertiser was less than 10 miles from where I bough the case ,just over 100 years later.Untitled.jpg

Last photo showing the missing drawer from above. When the photos were taken I had not emptied the contents of that drawer yet.004crop (Medium).jpg

The case is covered in black leatherette. Still all there,only thing I don't have is the keys. I'd suspect in the condition the tools were in the (late)gentleman had the keys somewhere.I just did not find them at the sale.

What a great find! I can't tell from the pictures if the wood is mahogany or birch. It has a real classy look about it with the leatherette and the nickel trim pieces. It's in amazing condition for a box that old! Is there a number on the lock? I have a few cases with the same type rectangular lock.

Kwality Kases was the brand name for Chicago Leather Goods Co. in Detroit and was a chest Secondary Supplier. Their chests were Wedell & Boers, Detroit, with their own nameplate. Go to Pg 25 on this site for Wedell & Boers info. -https://sites.google.com/site/thegui...chinistchests/
Have a good one...…..Ted

What a great find! I can't tell from the pictures if the wood is mahogany or birch. It has a real classy look about it with the leatherette and the nickel trim pieces. It's in amazing condition for a box that old! Is there a number on the lock? I have a few cases with the same type rectangular lock.

Thanks,Terry. The lock has EA3 stamped underneath it. I had almost given up when I saw the small numbers underneath. I believe the wood to be mahogany.

Originally Posted by toolbox

Kwality Kases was the brand name for Chicago Leather Goods Co. in Detroit and was a chest Secondary Supplier. Their chests were Wedell & Boers, Detroit, with their own nameplate. Go to Pg 25 on this site for Wedell & Boers info. -https://sites.google.com/site/thegui...chinistchests/
Have a good one...…..Ted

Thanks,Ted I probably would not have put the two clues together. Now to keep an eye out for a Wedell & Boers nameplate. It would be cool to keep with the chest ,going back to when Detroit was in the forefront of industry.
What is odd is the dimensions don't align with the chart as I am assuming I have a 5/2 case 5 small drawers,2 large .Dimensions are 18-7/8" wide, 8-1/2" deep, 12-1/2" high

Kwality Kases may have specified your size of chest, as Terry suggested. W & B apparently did not offer that size themselves, at least to the best of my knowledge. This would mean Kwality Kases would qualify as a ‘manufacturer’, even though W & B actually did the work, and not a Secondary Supplier. This type of a situation can arise occasionally and thanks for pointing out the differences……Ted